Candace Hill, Neighbor

Candace Moore Hill, 54, was raised in Coquille, Oregon, where the Bahá’í Faith found her, at the age of 15.  Her great Chicago adventure began when she was offered employment at the Bahá’í National Center in Evanston in 1983.  She saw the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette for the first time on the same day that Harold Washington won the Democratic primary for the Mayor of the City of Chicago.  It was an exiting time.

From then to now she completed her education at Northwestern University, edited a children’s magazine, married and raised two children in Evanston, became a La Leche League Leader, spent many volunteer hours in the local schools, and worked part-time in a local bookstore.  Throughout she was also writing about Bahá’í history and belief for a series of children’s books.

Volunteer guides at the Bahá’í House of Worship often find themselves telling the story of the first Chicago Bahá’ís and how they set before themselves a near impossible task.  Memories of those earliest believers are still very fresh in our history.  The “Spell of the Temple” is such that within the Bahá’í Archives, tucked into odd corners of the foundation, are the original photographs, meeting minutes, receipts, proposals, letters, and the diaries of the people who made this building happen.  For Candace, it was a joy to join the story of the building of the Temple with the extensive photograph collection while writing for Arcadia Publishing an Images of America book about the Temple.  It’s a story the Bahá’ís know well, and they are very pleased to share it with those who wish to learn more about the “Great Bell” of Chicago’s North Shore.